TxDOT awards VIA millions for bus service improvements

By Vianna Davila :
June 26, 2014
: Updated: June 27, 2014 4:11am

More Information

SAN ANTONIO — With a focus on easing traffic on some of the state's most congested roads, the Texas Transportation Commission on Thursday doled out millions of dollars to public transit, including $35 million toVIA Metropolitan Transit.

“VIA...is keenly focused on transformation of our transit system into a modern multimodal transit system that can serve the community and provide choices,” said VIA President and CEO Jeffrey Arndt, addressing the commission.

It was a landmark day for public transit and multimodal initiatives, particularly because the agency giving out the money is known more for building roads.

Austin received $50 million for its MetroRail commuter rail line; Dallas Area Rapid Transit was awarded $60 million for improvements to its red and blue light rail lines; Houston received $25 million for a dedicated bus lane on Loop 610; and El Paso received $97 million for its planned streetcar system. Another $30 million was given to three metropolitan planning organizations in the form of transportation development credits and $5 million was set aside for a Brazos and Colorado floodgates feasibility study.

The idea behind all of the investments is to help reduce congestion on nearby highways, particularly those that have landed on state's Top 100 congested roads list.